Fish and Game has App for new fishing closures

Confused about what waters will be open to fishing and which ones will be off limits starting Jan. 1 when the Department of Fish and Game’s marine protected areas go into effect?

The DFG has an App for you. The DFG’s mobile website will allow anglers, divers and other ocean users to look up current information about restricted areas and boundaries from smartphones and other portable Internet-enabled devices.

“We think this site is a thing of genius,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “This site will help immensely in our outreach efforts regarding the MPAs. And, it was created in-house, without any additional resources provided to our Information Technology Branch. This site is testament to the caliber and commitment of DFG employees.”

Located at www.dfg.ca.gov/m/MPA, the MPA mobile website allows the public to:

● Search for any current MPA by name, county or general area to find information about the MPA’s boundaries and regulations (the site will be updated as new MPAs go into effect, with no effect on the end user).

● Use an interactive map to locate any MPA and learn about its boundaries and regulations.

● Find and track the user’s current location using the GPS on a mobile device, locate the closest MPA(s) and determine whether or not the user is currently located within an MPA.

● Read a summary of regulations or complete regulations for any MPA.

Approximately 15 percent of the South Coast Region will be off-limits to fishing starting Jan. 1. The area stretches from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexican border. The closures were mandated by the California Marine Life Protection Act and include 50 marine protected areas, including 13 pre-existing MPAs retained at the northern Channel Islands. It also covers two special closures.

The DFG said game wardens will enforce the regulations in the marine protected areas starting Jan. 1. A DFG release says wardens “will take appropriate enforcement actions starting on (Jan. 1), which could include education, warning, citation or arrest, depending on the violation.

Commercial lobster traps may remain in marine protected areas until Jan. 6 if the door or doors to the traps are wired open, the trap is unbaited and that there is no attempt to take spiny lobsters.

Final regulations and maps can be found at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/scmpas list.asp. For more information, check www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/southcoast.asp.